Every single guy who walks into my gym would like bigger arms. Some will admit it, some won’t. For the ones who will admit it, I ask them what they have done to make their arms more muscular. They usually answer that they followed a program out of a magazine.
There’s nothing wrong with this, unless they haven’t gotten the results they wanted from those programs. And of course, if they had gotten the results they wanted, they wouldn’t be asking how to make their biceps bigger. Focusing on the biceps is the biggest mistake that someone can make when they’re trying to make their arms grow.
The reason for this is that the biceps are a relatively small part of the arm. The triceps and forearms are often neglected even though big triceps and thick forearms can make the overall appearance of the arm a lot more impressive.
So for these men, I usually start them out with a forearm strength training routine, mixed into whatever else it is they want to work on. I start with forearms because many people who are working on their biceps are also getting some triceps work in–there are almost as many triceps routines in the bodybuilding magazines as there are biceps and bench press articles.
Best forearms exercises
My favorite forearms movements all involve moving the arm against awkward leverage with the wrist fixed in position. If you ever see guys in a gym training their wrists, it’s usually the wrist curl, in which the bar is gripped in the hands while the trainee wiggles their wrists up and down.
This is not ideal. The wrist is not made to be trained dynamically, it is made to resist weight while locked out. That is true forearm and grip strength.
The recommended exercise for these, the plate curl, make the curl-happy people jump for joy, and also gives the wrists and forearms an incredible workout. Here is a video I shot about how to perform a plate curl.
In summary, both for forearm work and any other bodybuilding endeavor, if you want to be more muscular, you have to help the overall musculature to grow. You are only as strong as your weakest part, and for many men, forearms are one of the weakest parts that could benefit their overall aesthetic.
